Zero Tolerance for GM Contamination
New Zealand currently has a zero tolerance standard for traces of GMOs found in seed imports.
This protects New Zealand food exporters delivering to demanding markets. Those demands include private standards set by overseas retailers (such as European supermarkets chains) and food processors.
Proposals for lowering that standard to provide “tolerance limits” have been mooted in the past.
Were the zero tolerance standard to be abandoned, the main beneficiaries would be seed importers that did not innovate and invest to provide enhanced customer protection.
As our research has found, the market is delivering solutions that reduce the risk of GM contamination to extremely low levels. No relaxation of the zero tolerance standard is required as there is no significant tradeoff to be made given the availability of commercially viable, extremely low risk pathways to import seed free of GMOs.
Useful documents
- Seeding Purity. Improving Practices to Avoid GM Contamination of Seed Imports (2004)
- New Rules Help to Keep Food Pure (2004)
